Wet
by concretya
Summary: A Morning in Grimmauld Place. How Remus acts, how Harry acts, and how everyone else reacts to them.


Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
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"...my dear Tonks did."  
  
"Oh. Well then... where is that girl now? Tell me she didn't bounce her way back to her bed after dragging you out of yours, Remus..."  
  
The first sight of the Grimmauld Place kitchen for Harry Potter as he came down the stairs was the long table. Of which every square inch was clogged with clutter. The tender business of housekeeping seemed to be escaping even Molly Weasley.  
  
"Oh, good morning, dear!" the woman in question called from the counter. "It's rather early, isn't it?"  
  
"I couldn't sleep. Woke up. As-"usual. Too usual. They should know why he was awake. This habitual courtesy of the people around him was tedious. Extremely tedious. Harry fell silent as he glared blearily around the kitchen. The pending fight might as well come later rather than sooner.  
  
Remus Lupin was sitting sideways on one of the chairs, leaning against part of the counter furthest away from the bustling Mrs. Weasley. He attempted to give Harry a small smile, but ended up swallowing hard and taking a swig of his tea.  
  
"Lying in bed when you're away is nice. Just as nice as lying in it asleep." Ginny Weasley's voice intruded into the teen's sardonic thoughts. Three female figures had slunk into the room.  
  
Too true. Being asleep meant those bloody nightmares. Being awake meant..... well, it meant extremely painful thoughts.  
  
"You got up quite voluntarily when you heard me rummaging around in your magazines." Tonks shuffled over to the table. Hermione smiled at her. Harry's friend could tell that she was striving to lighten the mood, if somewhat unsuccessfully.  
  
"Hi Hermione." Harry sounded almost shy as he greeted her. His gaze lingered on her- she smiled stoically- and flew to Ginny. The redhead's bustling mother burst out with a reprimand for her little girl, who had just grabbed the last of the bread. Naturally, Ginny ignored her.  
  
In a fashion typical of teenagers, she and Hermione- and Tonks- converged on Harry. "There's no room in here, obviously, so we can sit in the living r-""Harry, are you hungry?" "Oops, er, you want this? I can wait...."  
  
"We'll just have to get some more supplies as soon as possible, then." Mrs. Weasley broke in. Harry was slightly relieved. He had been detecting undercurrents of worry and pity in the girls' voices.  
  
Typical teenagers. He wasn't typical, but they were typical teens. And Tonks. But Tonks did seem reluctant as she offered to Apparated to Diagon Alley and "bag some chow."  
  
She made it sound like she was hunting something. In the oh-so-dangerous jungle of Diagon Alley.  
  
In the slightly amiable pause with Tonks stretching and reaching for a jacket, and Hermione and Ginny waiting for his verdict on his condition, Lupin stood up. The carefully erected wall guarding his thoughts was typical, but this demeanor did seem slightly more... forced, and protected...to Harry.  
  
"No need. I'll go." Lupin quietly strode down the hallway without looking back or waiting.  
  
Harry frowned at the tonelessness of that simple statement. And when Mrs. Weasley called out in frustration to "Remus! Remus Lupin!" that it was raining and storming outside, Harry realized that the grown man had not even bothered to fetch a jacket. Or even put shoes on, for that matter.  
  
Apparently, it bothered him that Lupin was carelessly tramping out to walk down Muggle streets in the rain- and then Apparate to the chaotic wizarding world- with bare feet, rumpled Muggle slacks and shirt, and no jacket. With a strikingly... well, familiar, disregard for his health. Which was probably poor. And Harry would bet Hedwig that he knew why.  
  
"That man." Molly spoke sadly, but turned back to the cupboard that she was organizing. "No one had to go now," she blustered, worried, "certainly not him... and in his state! He'll splinch himself, or..."  
  
Silence fell. Ginny shifted from foot to foot behind Harry, and Hermione buried a hand under the papers on the table. The minutes stretched on, but the very air of the room seemed to be trying to brush the incident off.  
  
"Er.  
  
"Er, is anyone going to see if Professor Lupin is... okay?" Was this what the Headquarters were like all summer? With this... unease and... inactivity? Or was it due to himself? Was he really a source of that much tension?  
  
"He does want to be called Remus, not Professor, Harry.." Hermione answered quietly. "We think he'll be okay." She shared a glance with Tonks.  
  
"You think?"  
  
"Harry, Remus is dealing his own way..." That was Molly Weasley.  
  
Now where had he heard that before?  
  
"Stuff like this isn't a first." Harry turned slowly around to face Ginny. "And he can save himself." The boy bristled.  
  
Another person came rambling into the room. "Harry!" Ron exclaimed before sinking back into the early-morning-half-doze. "Mum- food? Toast?"  
  
"You'll have to wait. That fruit's for later, we're out of bread, and Tonks spilled all the milk."  
  
"Oh." Another pause filled the room, less tangible now with this sleepy, unaware presence. "'S anyone getting more?"  
  
"Remus is." Molly replied briskly, leaving Hermione and the others to decide if her son needed more explanations. And they apparently thought he didn't.  
  
"But... isn't that his coat?"  
  
"Of course." said Tonks, who was still holding it- why bother making sure the closest coat was hers? "Obviously. Naturally. It's quite recognizable." She felt pressed to continue.  
  
"Er. Isn't it raining?" The redhead continued, mildly bemused.  
  
"Great observation, Ron. Glad to know you looked out a window," snapped Hermione. Harry looked at her curiously, as did Tonks. "Does the phrase adult wizard mean anything? He can take care of... of him... self..."  
  
"Hermione," Ron said resolutely as the girl's eyes widened, "I'm pretty sure that's his wand right there on the counter."  
  
"Right." Harry felt bile rising in his throat. "This has been building up all summer, hasn't it? Just like you let it build up with me. I- we-"  
  
Harry froze. The roll of thunder that had just permeated the awkward kitchen was louder than the other disgruntled booms had been. He stiffly walked into the hallway, looking sideways at the stairwell.  
  
The door was just swinging shut. And while there were clearly no groceries in sight, a muddy, wet trail lead up the stairs. Harry, and the girls who had silently followed him, knew the dejected footsteps must lead to Remus Lupin's room.  
  
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Author's Note: Just a little situation to get myself into the swing of HP fanfic. It was just a character sketch; I don't particularly care how everyone is there, how long they've been there, and whatnot. I ended up doing it in Harry's perspective, kinda. Which is odd, since I don't like Harry. So I hope I did him ok.  
  
And the ending seems rather abrupt to me. Oh well. 


End file.
